Falling For a Friend - Beware of Indepth Posts -

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Love Struck

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Oct 30, 2011
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*sigh* Alrighty, here goes my fourth or so attempt at writing this. Sorry if my post seems rushed and frustrated. I just want to get my thoughts across as quickly and as best I can before I proof read it to death and ultimately delete the whole thing all over again (because I'm a perfectionist like that!). Also, I apologize if my train of thought seems extremely discombobulated. I have so much on my mind, I'm not entirely sure how to write it all out in a coherent fashion.

First and foremost, I want to apologize for cluttering up the forum with more of these sort of topics; it seems that a lot of people look down on these sort of threads.

Secondly, yeah, this is indeed an alternate account. Perhaps it was unnecessary, but I suppose there is no harm in giving myself additional anonymity. Anyway, to get to the point...

I'm not sure what I hope to gain by posting this here. Maybe all I want is someone to talk to without feeling like I'm being evaluated, something that I feel I direly lack. Either way, I hope that I may get some perspective from an outside source.

You see, I'm a 20 year old guy (in case that point is relevant), and as my username suggests, I've recently fallen for a friend. During the past few months, I've been developing increasingly stronger feelings for her. I just don't know what I'm supposed to do with these feelings though. I'd very much like to hang out with her more often and get to know her even better, and it's not like I'm necessarily too socially decrepit to do so either. Alas, the thing is, this semester I've opted to go to a different college 4 hours away, as my previous courses just weren't 'doing it' for me(I'd already be in my third year if I had just stuck with my original program!).

I try to keep in contact with her as much as I can. I want her to know that I appreciate and respect her. At the same time, I'm not sure how much contact is too much. I don't want to send her IMs or texts every hour of the day and make myself seem super clingy or desperate, but at the same time I don't want to appear as if I'm not truly interested in her as a person. This is often where I'm conflicted with asking for advice; none of you here are going to know her as a person, so how can someone such as yourself reading this possibly give me sound advice without knowing her temperament? I just don't know how to maintain the perfect balance.

Something interesting that I may have neglected to mention until now is that she just got out of a relationship herself; additionally, this was probably just before the time that I started crushing on her (perhaps I let a natural barrier down when I found out that she was no longer taken?). Luckily, it was a mutual breakup, and everyone is still friends. Her ex is actually a very good friend of mine too, and I've already mentioned to him that I've started to develop feelings for her. Thankfully, he seems to be cool with it. Anyway, the reason why I brought this up is because it has also played into my current outlook on the situation. I definitely do not want her to feel like I'm trying to pick her up right after a breakup. That is certainly not my intention in the slightest. Unfortunately, I honestly just happened to realize I had feelings for her now. I feel what I feel, and there's no easily changing that.

I think she also wants to take a break from relationships. After all, she just got out of quite the long one herself (at least 4 years I think?). I definitely respect that. She has expressed to me that she wants to work on personal growth and to try to improve herself. Again, while I totally respect that, and I think highly of anyone to set themselves such goal, I think she's a very wonderful person already.

It's not very often that I drive home, attending school as far away as I am. However, when I do, I can't help but want to fish for opportunities to visit her in person. I'm unsure whether or not it is a good thing for wanting to go see her every chance I get; would she be flattered that she is a big reason for my long travels home, or would she potentially weirded out by that? Again, I guess I can't really expect someone to answer that, because none of you know her in person.

But wait, there's more! While it has never been officially diagnosed, it seems that I suffer from some sort of seasonal depression (seasonal affective disorder?). I tend to have occasional bouts of depression from time to time regardless (sometimes very bad ones, I have been suicidal before; once when I was 14(15?), once at 18), but the symptoms tend to worsen during the winter months. I'm going through a little streak right now, and I can't help but feel that my lack of recognition from her is contributing to it. I don't blame in her in the slightest, mind you; I hope that didn't come off as if I have been expecting her to go out of the way to make my life feel a bit more significant or something. That is simply not the case. Alas, I still can't help but long for some sort of recognition. You see, she has been quite open to me about her personal life. I always try to lend an ear, and give her my best two cents, and I really realy appreciate that she trusts me enough to do so. She has actually been open to me too. Oddly enough, there IS one person I can feel safe talking to, and it's her. However, I don't want to put a damper on her mood all the time by passing on all my negative energy into her life. So here I am at the mercy of the internet... Lost my train of thought again.

Well... Shit. I guess I just want someone to vent to that's not going to directly impact my relationships with people I care about. There's SO much more I could talk about, but I just get overwhelmed by my own thoughts and derail my own train of thought. I'll be sure to edit and post more when I think of things, but right now I just want to get out there what I have, and maybe get some feedback so I can get some direction back to this rant; I swear there was a point to it! (again, this is like my fourth attempt at typing something up, and it's getting frustrating re-attempting to write something more coherent)

Bottom line is, I hope I get some feedback that helps me get myself on track with my own thoughts! I WANT to post more, but I'm swimming in a mess of cognitive functions at the moment. Boy am I all flustered. I guess you could call this a 'teaser'; If anyone feels like they're up to hearing more, please let me know.

Thanks in advance for any prompt replies :/ ...
 

artanis_neravar

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Apr 18, 2011
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Love Struck said:
First and foremost, I want to apologize for cluttering up the forum with more of these sort of topics; it seems that a lot of people look down on these sort of threads.
It's fine most of the people who look in the advice section don't mind these threads (at least I don't think they do)

Secondly, yeah, this is indeed an alternate account. Perhaps it was unnecessary, but I suppose there is no harm in giving myself additional anonymity. Anyway, to get to the point...
Not sure if that is allowed or not


You see, I'm a 20 year old guy (in case that point is relevant), and as my username suggests, I've recently fallen for a friend. During the past few months, I've been developing increasingly stronger feelings for her. I just don't know what I'm supposed to do with these feelings though. I'd very much like to hang out with her more often and get to know her even better, and it's not like I'm necessarily too socially decrepit to do so either. Alas, the thing is, this semester I've opted to go to a different college 4 hours away, as my previous courses just weren't 'doing it' for me(I'd already be in my third year if I had just stuck with my original program!).
Age is relevant(at least to the point of us knowing you aren't some 14 year old still in junior high), and while 4 hours away is far, it's not to far to keep a relationship (whether friendly or romantic) going if you work at it


I try to keep in contact with her as much as I can. I want her to know that I appreciate and respect her. At the same time, I'm not sure how much contact is too much. I don't want to send her IMs or texts every hour of the day and make myself seem super clingy or desperate, but at the same time I don't want to appear as if I'm not truly interested in her as a person. This is often where I'm conflicted with asking for advice; none of you here are going to know her as a person, so how can someone such as yourself reading this possibly give me sound advice without knowing her temperament? I just don't know how to maintain the perfect balance.
Your issue here is that you are looking at the situation with the knowledge that you have feelings for her. Take an objective look at what you are doing and try to decide if someone didn't know about your feelings would find it weird. Example, I talk to my friend through texts all the time, he is a guy so it's not awkward 'cause there is no sexual component, however I talk to his Fiance often as well as a few of my female friends and it doesn't come across as creepy because I harbor no romantic feelings for them. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's all about perspective, chances are she won't find it weird or creepy unless you are trying to make unwanted moves on her.



Something interesting that I may have neglected to mention until now is that she just got out of a relationship herself; additionally, this was probably just before the time that I started crushing on her (perhaps I let a natural barrier down when I found out that she was no longer taken?). Luckily, it was a mutual breakup, and everyone is still friends. Her ex is actually a very good friend of mine too, and I've already mentioned to him that I've started to develop feelings for her. Thankfully, he seems to be cool with it. Anyway, the reason why I brought this up is because it has also played into my current outlook on the situation. I definitely do not want her to feel like I'm trying to pick her up right after a breakup. That is certainly not my intention in the slightest. Unfortunately, I honestly just happened to realize I had feelings for her now. I feel what I feel, and there's no easily changing that.

I think she also wants to take a break from relationships. After all, she just got out of quite the long one herself (at least 4 years I think?). I definitely respect that. She has expressed to me that she wants to work on personal growth and to try to improve herself. Again, while I totally respect that, and I think highly of anyone to set themselves such goal, I think she's a very wonderful person already.
Just getting out of a relationship can be hard you should give her time to work things out for herself



It's not very often that I drive home, attending school as far away as I am. However, when I do, I can't help but want to fish for opportunities to visit her in person. I'm unsure whether or not it is a good thing for wanting to go see her every chance I get; would she be flattered that she is a big reason for my long travels home, or would she potentially weirded out by that? Again, I guess I can't really expect someone to answer that, because none of you know her in person.
IT all really depends on her feeling for you and how close you are, if she has feelings for you, or you are really close then she would be flattered otherwise she would more likely be weirded out.


But wait, there's more! While it has never been officially diagnosed, it seems that I suffer from some sort of seasonal depression (seasonal affective disorder?). I tend to have occasional bouts of depression from time to time regardless (sometimes very bad ones, I have been suicidal before; once when I was 14(15?), once at 18), but the symptoms tend to worsen during the winter months. I'm going through a little streak right now, and I can't help but feel that my lack of recognition from her is contributing to it. I don't blame in her in the slightest, mind you; I hope that didn't come off as if I have been expecting her to go out of the way to make my life feel a bit more significant or something. That is simply not the case. Alas, I still can't help but long for some sort of recognition. You see, she has been quite open to me about her personal life. I always try to lend an ear, and give her my best two cents, and I really realy appreciate that she trusts me enough to do so. She has actually been open to me too. Oddly enough, there IS one person I can feel safe talking to, and it's her. However, I don't want to put a damper on her mood all the time by passing on all my negative energy into her life. So here I am at the mercy of the internet... Lost my train of thought again.
It's a good idea to hold back the worst of your problems from someone who you are considering dating



Well... Shit. I guess I just want someone to vent to that's not going to directly impact my relationships with people I care about. There's SO much more I could talk about, but I just get overwhelmed by my own thoughts and derail my own train of thought. I'll be sure to edit and post more when I think of things, but right now I just want to get out there what I have, and maybe get some feedback so I can get some direction back to this rant; I swear there was a point to it! (again, this is like my fourth attempt at typing something up, and it's getting frustrating re-attempting to write something more coherent)
I have been there don't worry, your wall'o'text was well written and understandable.


Bottom line is, I hope I get some feedback that helps me get myself on track with my own thoughts! I WANT to post more, but I'm swimming in a mess of cognitive functions at the moment. Boy am I all flustered. I guess you could call this a 'teaser'; If anyone feels like they're up to hearing more, please let me know.
I have no problem trying to give you more advice if you want to include more info.

Thanks in advance for any prompt replies :/ ...
No problem at all
 

Love Struck

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Oct 30, 2011
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artanis_neravar said:
Thank you very much for your thoughtful reply; I appreciate the time you took to do that. Though, I suppose I'm now feeling like it was a silly idea to post all this on an internet forum to begin with (not in response to your reply, just as a result of my own further thoughts). I think this is something I need to figure out on my own. Thanks again...
 

artanis_neravar

New member
Apr 18, 2011
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Love Struck said:
artanis_neravar said:
Thank you very much for your thoughtful reply; I appreciate the time you took to do that. Though, I suppose I'm now feeling like it was a silly idea to post all this on an internet forum to begin with (not in response to your reply, just as a result of my own further thoughts). I think this is something I need to figure out on my own. Thanks again...
Not a problem
 

Eyclonus

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Apr 12, 2008
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Ok, so setting aside that posting something like this on the internet is like asking a malignant cancer for an opinion on appropriate curtains for the living room.

Ok, I can say that I have been in a very similar situation, its not a good place to be. I have to say it was the most heart wrenching 10 months of my life. If things start bringing you down, talk it out with someone who knows this girl and get them to give you neutral overview of how things look to them, looking at you looking at her.

First off, if she wants a break from a relationships, don't push: Thats what weirdo sex offender types do.

Second, she will not notice your feelings for her, this is Manic Pixie Dream Girl syndrome, taught to us by lonely nerdy hollywood writers that project themselves into their screen plays and write the romantic foil to be someone who picks them up and lifts them up, in-depth examination of this borders on Freudian Psychoanalysis. Its very rare for this to work, like it requires exact mirror circumstances on both sides with similar personalities etc... If you want the relationship, you need to say "Wanna go on a date?", "I love you", "I want to be your partner" or words to that effect that may sound cheesey but in all seriousness they are most streamlined form to express such a powerful and complicated emotion.

Third ask her ex if he is a friend about whether he's fine with you dating her. You're not asking permission, what you're doing is gauging his likely reactions to you to hooking up. You can do this up front if your really sure he's close enough to you to be 100% honest, but the better alternative is to say slip the question in conversation, for example talk about all kinds of girls the two of you know and suggest her after the sixth or seventh, and do it in a joking voice, as if you only just thought of it. If your friend gives a negative answer then either you two are not compatible in his opinion, or he has strong feelings still, which leads to broken friendships and someone getting sent to the emergency room. If he gives a positive response you have pretty much approval to date her without him getting jealous and possessive. A positive answer also gives you hope and major boost to your self-esteem, which you should monitor carefully as you can easily end up depressed over the situation.

Fourth is being a friend when she needs a friend and being more than just a friend when she needs more. This is hard, working this one out makes you Eros himself. Something I recommend is doing things together that focus on each other. I don't mean seeing movies, unless the goal of the whole thing is to make snarky commentary about the film. Seeing a band together is right out, this is easily the best way for her to meet new people, which means not becoming interested in you. Bake a cake with her, do things that are fun and childish, like buying a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle and having a race to beat it in 4 hours. Doing silly fingerpaintings or a class/short course on first aid/dance (No Tango, at least not at the start)/language (avoid French, Spanish and Italian are just as effective without being obvious). Skydiving is an epic win for this, it might just refute point 2 if you do it at the right time. Do this on the same day every week, say Sunday, for 5-7 weeks makes her look forward to Sundays every week, on the eighth week don't do something with her and gauge her reaction the more hurt she feels the closer you are to her. The whole point of this is to effectively "not-date" her during the period she doesn't want a relationship and when she leaves this period, hey presto you got a date scheduled at least once a week, but do not fucking say that if you actually want to be with her, that makes you sound like a manipulative stalker. Beware this whole process can backfire spectacularly if you include other people, this is "Us" time and you have to be very open and emotional, smile constantly - The Duchenne smile is powerful in human relationships, don't be manly and simply endure something, react and express.

Hope my wall of text helps. I know what you're going through and its painful just to read someone else going through that same shit again.